When the brass and bigwigs of the National Football League gather April 22-24 in New York City for the annual draft, it’s likely that a pair of Loudoun natives will be among those selected to join the elite fraternity of professional football players.

Potomac Falls graduate Adrian Tracy and Stone Bridge alumnus Ed Wang have completed notable college football careers, and have been poked and prodded exhaustively by NFL scouts. Now these two Loudouners will sit and watch and listen for their names to be called on national television.

Wang keeps on growing

It’s not only that Ed Wang could be the first Stone Bridge Bulldog to get an NFL draft nod. He is also in line to become the first player of full Chinese descent to play at football’s highest level.

“It definitely does [mean something], to be the first one to do it. I didn’t have anyone to look up to in that regard in football, so maybe I can set an example for others,” said Wang, who last visited his ancestral homeland nine years ago.

Wang inherited more than just heritage from his parents. Dad Robert was a high jumper and mom Nancy a hurdler when both were members of the Chinese Olympic team.

“They pushed me toward being involved in athletics,” said Wang, who played both football and basketball at Stone Bridge. Younger brother David, also a multisport athlete as a Bulldog, has followed Ed to the offensive line at Virginia Tech.

In his time at Stone Bridge, Ed Wang was involved in helping the Bulldogs win games as a pass-catching tight end. As a senior, he was named the Group AA Player of the Year while his team went 11-1.

He moved on to Tech, converted to offensive tackle and was a starter by his sophomore season. He wound up starting the last 34 games of his college career, and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

His gridiron success, and his increase in girth to more than 310 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame, is not much of a surprise to his high school coach.

“I knew he was a great athlete and was going to get pretty large,” Stone Bridge’s Mickey Thompson said. “He always had the work ethic and footwork to be a good football player.”

Wang makes a point of checking in on Thompson and the Bulldogs every time he’s back home in Ashburn.

“I’m just grateful to have had the opportunity to play there, and to learn from a coach like Coach Thompson,” he said.

For Thompson, the feeling is mutual.

“You just want to give kids an opportunity to go to the highest level, and when they get that, you’re proud that you played a small role in that,” the coach said.

Wang has been personally worked out by two NFL teams, and his impressive overall athleticism is drawing scouts’ attentions. Also attracting attention is Wang’s dark hair that flows down to mid-back.

“Naw, I haven’t cut it yet. It’s still long right now,” Wang said with a laugh. When he finally does get a haircut, he intends to donate the jet-black locks to a charity that provides wigs for people suffering hair loss due to medical treatment.

Wang owns a degree in property management, but hopes to turn his football education into his primary occupation.

“I just want to hear my name called,” the Ashburn resident said.

Former Potomac Falls Panther Adrian Tracy, No. 97, entered college without a scholarship, and wound up an All-American with legitimate NFL prospects. He is recognized for his versatility and speed off the edge.—Photo Courtesy/Jim Agnew

Tracy works his way up

Six years ago, Adrian Tracy was a Panther senior with legitimate college prospects in both football and basketball. A nimble athlete with significant size, he was a second-team all-state honoree on the hardwood but opted to walk on to the football team at the College of William & Mary.

“I always loved basketball as a first sport, but football presented more opportunities,” Tracy said. “It’s worked out for the best.”

It would seem so, owing in part to his work ethic and personality as attested to by his old hoops coach.

“He’s a great character guy. He hasn’t forgotten where he’s come from, and it reminds me of why I do what I do,” said Potomac Falls’ Jeff Hawes, who adds that he and Tracy still speak frequently. “We’re good for each other.”

Tracy says that Potomac Falls was good for him.

“I feel like I was there interacting with those people for a reason,” he states, “and Coach Hawes is an example of that.”

Playing in college without a scholarship at first, Tracy knew he had to take advantage of every practice and every workout to earn the respect of his Tribe coaches and teammates.

Tracy earned that respect and a spot on the starting defense that he never surrendered. He eventually started in every game his team played in his career, setting a new school record with 47 starts.

Last fall Tracy compiled a memorable senior campaign while helping the Tribe reach the Football Championship Subdivision’s semifinal round. As an outside linebacker, he had a team-leading 78 tackles, 22 of them for a loss. His 12 sacks tied a school record.

He was recognized by five different organizations as an All-American.

Jimmye Laycock, William & Mary’s legendary coach of 30 seasons and himself a Loudoun product, said he has seen Tracy develop into a leader looked up to by the team’s younger members.

“He had potential but had to work on the fundamentals. And he’s done that very well,” Laycock said. “The last part of his career he began to understand his influence on his teammates in the way he prepared himself for every game and every play.”

That motivation to excel translates directly from Tracy’s relationship with his mother, Ann Hill.

“She’s been my rock, my solid foundation. She kept me in the church and around a positive environment,” he said. “I take a lot of my drive from her, because of all she had to do to keep clothes on my back and a roof over my head.”

Tracy’s drive has led to serious attention from a multitude of NFL franchises. He has completed a kinesiology degree, but he expects his after-college job to be as a football player.

“My main focus right now is to be ready to go to work, and to capitalize on what God has given me.”

Ed Wang

High school: Stone Bridge
College: Virginia Tech
Position: OT
*Positional draft rank: 12

Adrian Tracy

High school: Potomac Falls
College: William & Mary
Position: OLB
*Positional draft rank: 21

*Per NFLDraftScout.com